Walter Booth

(8 May 1889 - 18 February 1971, UK)

Walter Henry Booth was a classic UK artist. Born in Walthamstow, Essex, he joined the staff of Carlton studio in 1908, doing various commercial assignments. His first comics appeared in the early 1910s in Comic Life and Sparks ('Private Ramrod' and 'Ram and Rod'). He created his most famous comic character, 'Professor Potash', for The Big Comic in 1915. The strip was later continued in Lot-O-Fun, a magazine for which he also did 'The Adventure Seekers'. Other comics for Sparks include 'Peggy and Peter in Toyland' and 'Jumbo'. He began the adventures of the traveller 'Rob the Rover' in Puck magazine from 1920. Although he never signed his work, Booth probably created the first real hero of British comics. The series ran until 1940.

For the same magazine, Booth illustrated 'Jingles' Jolly Circus', 'Orphans of the Sea' (1930), 'Cruise of the Sea Hawk' and 'Captain Moonlight' (1936). He also drew 'The Pirate's Secret' for Happy Days. After the discontinuation of Puck in 1940, Booth was somewhat out of work, but he did some strips for Merry Maker from 1946. He had his comeback soon afterwards with 'Jack and Jill', a nursery comic printed in photogravure. His final contribution to comics was 'There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe' in 1954. Walter Booth died in Barmouth, Wales, in 1971.